Today's Features

Instead of trashing old wine bottles, Clara and Thaddeus “Tee” Sexton have incorporated them into the landscape design of their Buford community home. Capitalizing on ideas picked up from home and garden magazines, the Sextons have created a greener garden by adding innovative glass touches throughout their yard. Old wine bottles (angled bottoms up) edge the natural area and sidewalk leading to their front door.

Lt. Cmdr. Corey Taylor, an Indian Land High School graduate and 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, was recently awarded the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps’ Commendation Medal for his meritorious service while serving as the USS Shiloh’s engineering officer.The ship’s commanding officer, Capt. A.J.

Fireworks go with the Fourth of July like, well, the “bombs bursting in air” and the “rockets’ red glare” go with the national anthem.Here in South Carolina, where almost all fireworks are legal, shooting off your own fireworks display is a big part of the holiday.Using fireworks can be dangerous, but it doesn’t have to be.

Light the grill; Independence Day is here.While hot dogs, hamburger patties and barbecue chicken take center stage in the backyard on Friday, nothing adds spice to a star-spangled July 4 feast like all-American side dishes.The great thing about side dishes is you can mix and match them, depending on what your tastes are.From baked beans and coleslaw to potato salad and fresh-shucked corn, the combinations are endless.Nothing is better than topping it with homemade ice cream and a patriotic sweet treat or two, including an ice cold watermelon.

Janice Smith knows a winner when she sees one.And that’s just what JoAnn and Jimmy Mosier have created at 2352 Country Club Drive.The Mosier home has been selected by the Lancaster Council of Garden Clubs as the Yard of the Month for June. Smith is chairwoman of the selection committee.

They don’t call it summer squash for nothing.And right now – while it’s coming in season – is the perfect time to add it to the dinner table.A fleshy vegetable protected by a hard rind, squash belongs to the plant family that includes melons and cucumbers.Among substances present in summer squash are phytochemicals, coumarins and flavonoids.

If you want some of the freshest produce around, you’ll find it at a local farmer’s market.The reasoning is simple. There is no “jet lag” involved. While most of the produce that hits the supermarket shelves is trucked in, local produce has traveled less than a day to get to market, making it as garden fresh as possible.

The giant mowing pan on the SCDOT tractor parked in the hay field at Ben Snipes’ farm off Riverside Road immediately grabbed Clay Coley’s attention during Tuesday’s 4-H Agriculture Safety Day.Sitting under an awning beneath a shade tree to beat the heat, Coley, 6, listened as Bryan Baker, trade specialist for the local SCDOT right-of-way and vegetation management, explained how the tractor’s mowing pan can throw debris more than 300 feet.“That’s as long as a football field,” Baker said.“I like that tractor

The 2008 Lancaster Dixie Baseball all-star tournaments open with the annual AA city championship playoffs for the ages 7-8 league.The playoffs open Saturday with games at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. at Wylie Park’s field five. Play continues Monday with games at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.If needed, games will be played Tuesday at 6 p.m.

We old folks are still in awe at just how quick the years fly by. It’s remarkable that the memories made of certain days – like June 6, 1944 – can remain so vivid in our minds.Only 11 years old, I was rushing through the upstairs hallway on a warm summer morning when my attention was drawn to the announcements on the radio.This was a day we all knew was coming.Normal broadcasts were interupted as war correspondents reported that thousands of men, thousands of ships, hundreds of airplanes had launched a massive invasion